Carton and method of assembly



March 8, 1960 s. P. SANFORD CARTON AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet i 7 Filed March 2, 1959 FIG. 2.

INVENTO .srmer R SAN/"0E0 March 8, 1960 s. P. SANFORD 2,927,687

CARTON AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLY Filed March 2, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CARTON AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLY Stuart P. Sanford, West Orange, N.J., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 2, 1959, Serial No. 796,568

Claims. (Cl. 206-4519) This invention relates to packaging and, more particularly, to an improved platform type carton for packaging and displaying a plurality of articles such as incandescent lamps or the like.

One of the generally used methods of packaging a plurality of small articles, such as incandescent lamps, is to insert one end of the articles into a suitably apertured platform of rectangular cross-section and then slip the loaded platform into an open-ended wrapper. In some instances the platform comprises an integral part of a carton in which case rather elaborate locking devices are used to prevent the platform from collapsing or distorting into parallelogramic shape. From both a labor and material cost standpoint the most desirable arrangement would be to combine such a platform with a back panel to provide a carton which is L-shaped in cross-section and adapted to hold the articles upright in attractive display formation. A platform type carton of this character has heretofore been impractical because of the lack of an effective but inexpensive locking means to prevent the platform from collapsing.

With the foregoing in mind it is the general object of the present invention to provide an improved platform type carton which will overcome the foregoing deficiencies and problems of the prior art.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a platform type packing and display carton which can be very conveniently and economically fabricated and locked in upstanding display formation together with the articles packed therein.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a collapsible platform type carton which can be fabricated from a single piece of packaging material, loaded while in collapsed condition and the loaded articles and carton then set up and locked in upstanding display formation by means of a simple and efficient operation.

For a better understanding of the invention and the manner in which the aforesaid objects, and others which will become apparent as the description proceeds, are achieved reference should be had to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a two-lamp package according to this invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line IIII of Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the lamp package shown in the preceding figures;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the carton in its fiatfolded condition with the lamps poised for insertion therein in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the line V-V of Fig. 4, in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view corresponding to Fig. 2 but showing the disposition of the packed lamps and parts of the carton just before they are locked in their normal upstanding display formation;

Fig. 7 is a plan view on a reduced scale of the blank United States. Patent 0 line rx-ix of Fig. 8, in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 10 is a view illustrating the manner in which the modified carton is loaded; and

Fig. 11 is a plan view on a reduced scale of the blank from which the modified carton shown in Figs. 8 to 10 is fabricated.

While the invention may be advantageously employed in the packaging of various kinds and sizes of articles which lend themselves to this manner of merchandizing, it is especially adapted for use in conjunction with miniature size incandescent lamps such as Christmas tree lamps or the like where an attractive point-of-purchase display unit is desired and hence has been so illustrated and will be so described.

With specific reference now to the drawings, in Fig. 1 there is shown one form of the present invention wherein a pair of Christmas tree lamps 30 are held in spaced upright position by means of an L-shaped carton comprising a platform of generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration and an upstanding back panel 14. The platform constitutes the base of the carton and is, in essence, an open-end sleeve having a top wall 16, front wall 18, a bottom wall 20 and a back wall 22 foldably connected along longitudinal parallel score lines 13, 15, 17 and 19 and dimensioned to collapse flat in a common plane along with the back panel 14, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

As illustrated in Fig. 7, the carton is preferably and conveniently fabricated from a single piece of relatively stiff sheet material such as paperboard or the like cut to form a rectangular blank which is divided by the aforesaid score lines 13, 15, 17 and 19 into the back panel 14 and the four wall-forming panels that constitute the platform. The back panel 14 is, accordingly, integral with the platform-forming portion of the carton and is hingedly connected to the rearward edge of the top wall 16 along the score line 13. The back wall 22 is located at the end of the blank opposite the back panel 14 and has its edge coated with suitable adhesive, as indicated in Fig. 7, to provide a fastening strip 23. In fabricating the carton the fastening strip 23 is merely secured to the edge of the back panel 14 adjacent the score line 13 thereby constituting the platform and forming a lapped joint which, in effect, makes the back panel 14 a rigid extension of the back wall 12. As illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the walls of the platform are so dimensioned that they fold flat along with the back panel 14 thereby facilitating both the shipment and storage of the cartons.

The lamps 3d are firmly anchored in the top wall 16 by means of apertures 24 dimensioned to receive and frictionally engage the base ends of the lamps. A pair of elongated openings 26 are cut from the corner-forming portions of the bottom wall 20 and back wall 22 which openings extend normally of the longitudinal axis of the platform and across the score line 19 joining the aforesaid bottom and back walls, as shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 7. The elongated openings 26 are considerably wider than the diameter of the apertures 24 and the base ends of the lamps 3i) and are so disposed that the portions thereof defined by the back wall 22 mate with the aforesaid apertures (see Figs. 4 and 5) when the carton is coilapsed.

According to this invention the carton and lamps 30 are maintained in the desired upstanding display relationship by means of a brace member 28 which, as shown most particularly in Fig. 7, is cut from the bottom wall 20 and adjoining portion of the front wall 18 but is not traversed by the score line 17 joining said walls. The brace member 28 is, accordingly, at rigid element. The:

remaining segment of the front wall 18 aligned with the brace member 28 constitutes a downwardly depending front edge panel 35 when the platform is erected (Figs. 1 to 3 and Fig. 6). In this particular embodiment the brace member 28 is hinged along the score line 19 to the portion of the back wall 22 located b tween the elongated openings 26 so that it can be swung inwardly into the platform, when the latter is erected, without striking the base ends of the loaded lamps 30. As shown in Figs. 2 and 7, the length d of the brace member 28 is substantially equal to the diagonal of the platform when the latter is in rectangular tubular formation.

Packaging of the lamps 30 and the assembly thereof and the carton into display formation is very simply and efficiently accomplished in accordance with this invention by first inserting the base ends of the lamps 30 into the mating base-receiving apertures 24 and elongated openings 26 while the carton is in its collapsed as-received condition, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. When fully seated in the collapsed carton the base ends of the lamps 30 protrude beyond the back wall ..2 through the portion of the elongated openings 26 defined thereby. The platform is then erected upon the score lines 13, 15,17 and 19 by pressing inwardly on the edge of the back panel 14 and the opposite edge of the carton defined by the score line 17 thereby causing the protruding base ends of the packed lamps 30 to pass through the bottom wall 20 and back wall 22 through the elongated openings 26 therein. At the same time that the platform is being set up the brace member 28 is pressured inwardly toward the platform. The compressive force on the carton is continued until the platform is distorted beyond its normal rectan ular form into parallelogrammic shape at which time the free end of the brace member 28 will automatically spring over the front edge panel 35 and snap into nesting engagement with the corner thereat formed with the top wall 16, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 6. Due to the natural resiliency of the material from which the carton is fabricated the platform inherently tends to return to its original collapsed condition thus securely wedging the brace member 28 diagonally within the platform and locking the latter, along with the loaded lamps 30 and back panel 14, in the desired upstanding display formation. The interaction between the envelope portions of the packed lamps 36 and the back panel 14 prevents the platform from being distorted in the opposite direction to the degree required to permit the brace member 28 to slip out of the platform thereby preventing the carton from being inadvertently collapsed during handling.

An aperture 32 may be provided in the upper edge of the back. panel 14 to permit a number of the two-lamp packs to be threaded over a suitable rack and conveniently stored at the purchasing counter, as is well known.

As shown in Figs. 8 to 11, the invention can also be advantageously employed to package more than two articles by suitably lengthening the carton. In the particular embodiment illustrated, the carton is of sufficient length to accommodate five lamps 3b of the type packed in the two-lamp carton described above. The construction of the carton and the manner in which it is loaded and locked in upstanding position is identical in all respects with the two-lamp carton previously described except that a slightly modified brace member 34 is employed.

In order to accommodate the desired additional number of lamps 3t) and at the same time keep the carton as short as possible, the base-receiving apertures 24 according to the modified form of the invention are more closely spaced and the brace member 34 is provided with an elongated opening 27 disposed to mate with the middle one of the aforesaid apertures, as illustrated most particularly in Fig. 10. The elongated opening 27 is made considerably longer than the other openings and 26' in order to provide the additional clearance required to permit the brace member 34' to be swung past the protruding base end of the middle lamp 30 into its diagonally locked position inside the platform. To facilitate the fabrication of the carton the sides of the brace mem ber 34 are slightly indented and conformed to define, in part, the adjacent openings 25 and said openings also connected to one another through the slot left in the front wall 18 when the brace member 34 is trimmed to a length d1 (Fig. 11) equal to the diagonal of the platform. Thus, the base end of the centrally packed lamp 30 projects through the opening 27 in the brace member 34 thereby permitting the carton to be loaded and erected in the same manner as the two-lamp carton described above and the desired number of lamps to be accommodated without in the least interfering with the automatic locking action of the brace member or unduly increasing the length of the carton.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the objects of the invention have been achieved by providing a platform type carton which can be economically fabricated, efiiciently loaded and then concurrently erected and automatically locked in upstanding display formation in one simple operation.

While two embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described in detail, it will be particularly understood that various modifications therein and other embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A packing and display carton comprising a collapsible platform and an upstanding back panel, said platform comprising a top and a bottom wall foldably connected to a front and a back wall and adapted to form therewith a collapsible sleeve that is substantially rectangular in cross-section when erected, said back panel being connected to said back wall and constituting a rigid extension thereof, a rigid brace member cut from said bottom wall and an adjoining part of said front wall with the remaining segment of said front wall constituting a downwardly depending front edge panel when said platform is erected, said top wall having an aperture therein conformed to receive and frictionally engage one end of an article adapted to be packed in said carton, and said brace member being hingedly connected to said back wall along the fold line joining it with said bottom wall and of substantially the same length as the diagonal of said platform when the latter is erected and in rectangular tubular formation, thereby providing in conjunction with the front edge panel of said front wall means for locking said platform and back panel in upstanding display formation.

2. A packing and display carton for a plurality of articles comprising an elongated collapsible platform and an upstanding back panel, said platform comprising a top and a bottom wall foldably connected to a front and a back wall and adapted to form therewith a collapsible sleeve that is substantially in cross-section when erected, said back panel being integral with and hinged to the rearward edge of said top wall and fastened to said back wall and constituting a rigid extension thereof, a rigid brace member cut from said bottom wall and an adjoining part of said front wall with the remaining segment of said front wall constituting a downwardly depending front edge panel integral with said front wall when said platform is erected, said top wall having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures therein conformed to receive and frictionally engage the ends of the articles adapted to be packed in said carton, a plurality of elongated openings at the corner of said platform defined by the back and bottom walls thereof and disposed to mate with the apertures in said top wall when said platform is in collapsed condition, the direction of elongation of said openings being normal to the longi tudinal axis of said platform, said brace member being hingedly connected to said back wall along the fold line joining it with said bottom wall and disposed between said elongated openings and of substantially the same length as the diagonal of said platform when the latter is erected and in rectangular tubular formation, thereby constituting in conjunction with the front edge panel of said front wall means for locking said platform and back panel in upstanding display formation.

3. A packing and display carton for a plurality of incandescent lamps or the like, comprising a collapsible platform of generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration and a back panel fabricaed from a single piece of relatively stiff packaging material, said platform comprising a top wall and a bottom wall hingedly connected to a front and back wall, and said back panel being attached to said back wall and comprising a rigid extension thereof, a rigid brace member cut from said bottom wall and an adjoining part of said front wall with the remaining segment of said front wall constituting a downwardly depending front edge panel when said platform is erected, said top wall having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures therein dimensioned to receive and frictionally engage the base ends of the lamps adapted to be packed in said carton, a plurality of elongated openings at the corner of said platform defined by the back and bottom walls thereof and disposed to mate with the apertures in said top wall when the platform is in collapsed condition, the direction of elongation of said openings being normal to the longitudinal axis of said platform, said brace member being centrally disposed with respect to said platform, and one of the basereceiving apertures in said top wall, in turn, being aligned with said brace member and disposed to mate with an elongated opening therein, the elongated opening in said brace member being considerably longer than the other of said elongated openings, said brace member being hingedly connected to said back wall and having a length substantially equal to the diagonal of said the latter is e ected and in rectangular tubular formation, thereby providing in conjunction with the front edge panel of said front wall means for locking said platform and back panel in upstanding display formation.

4. The combination of a packing and display carton and a plurality of incandescent lamps packed therein, said carton comprising an elongated collapsible platform of substantially rectangular cross-sectional configuration and a rigid back panel fastened to and extending upwardly from the back wall of said platform, the base ends of said lamps being inserted into and frictionally platform when p 6 I retained by a plurality of longitudinally spaced apertures provided in the top wall of said platform, a rigid brace member cut from thebottom wall and a portion of the front wall of said platform, said brace member being hinged to said back wall and diagonally disposed within said platform with its free end nestingly engaging the corner formed by the top wall and the aligned edge segment of said front wall, thereby preventing the collapse of said platform and in conjunction with the interaction between the envelope portions of said packed lamps and said back panel permanently locking said carton and packed lamps in upstanding display formation.

5'. The method of packaging a plurality of incandescent lamps, comprising providing an elongated platform having front and back walls and top and bottom walls hingedly connected together and collapsible along longitudinal score lines into a common plane along with a back panel which is fastened to and constitutes a rigid extension of said back wall, said platform having a rigid brace member equal in length to the diagonal of said platform, when erected into rectangular tubular formation, cut from its bottom wall and an adjoining part of its front wall and a plurality of apertures in its top wall which mate with a plurality of elongated openings disposed normal to and extending across the score line connecting its back and bottom walls, inserting the base ends of said incandescent lamps into and through said apertures and the mating portions of said elongated openings with the aforesaid base ends frictionally engaged and supported by the material defining the apertures in the top wall,

erecting said platform upon said longitudinal score lines into substantially rectangular tubular formation and concurrently pressuring said brace member inwardly toward the platform to forcibly spring its free end over and behind the downwardly protruding aligned segment of said front wall, thereby locking said brace member diagonally within said platform and maintaining said platform, back panel and lamps in upstanding display formation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 163,3l3 Heyl May 18, 1875 2,229,427 Tanner Jan. 21, 1941 2,808,978 Wright Oct. 8, 1957 2,851,158 Gish Sept. 9, 1958 2,869,720 Mahoney Jan. 20, 1959 

